


Meet Me in the Next Aisle

by legojacques (InterruptingDinosaur)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - Retail, Awkward Jack is awkward, Fluff, Food Innuendos, M/M, Pining, poor guy is just trying to find an excuse to talk to bitty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-27 16:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13252311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterruptingDinosaur/pseuds/legojacques
Summary: When he’d paid, the guy grabbed his bags with a mumbled thanks. Bitty tried not to stare at his retreating form, but he couldn’t help it when the black spandex shorts showed off an ass that Bitty only dreamed of achieving. When he looked back, Will was already smirking at him.“Not a word,” Bitty warned.Bitty's problem with working at the grocery store isn't the late nights or the repetitive stacking jobs. It's the guy with the great ass who keeps coming in and never putting stuff back in the right spot.





	Meet Me in the Next Aisle

“Oh!” Bitty gasped in equal parts surprise and indignation. “He’s back!” he hissed, frantically slapping Will’s arm to get his attention.

“Who?” Will asked, glancing up from his phone.

“That guy!”

Both Bitty and Will watched as the man came through the automatic doors. He blinked a couple of times, his eyes adjusting from darkness to the sudden glare of the fluorescent lighting. With the exception of his yellow running shoes, which contrasted vividly with the rest of his outfit, he looked like he was dressed to rob a place, something that Bitty would have found it moderately funny if he wasn’t so annoyed.

“He looks familiar,” Will eventually said with a shrug and went back to texting. The open textbook he’d been skimming earlier sat ignored on the scanner.

“That’s because he was in here last week. He left a jar of pickles in the middle of the coffee and tea aisle.”

“Lots of people do that, Bits.”

“Yeah, but two days before that I found another jar nestled between the chips and the cheese puffs,” Bitty said darkly.

It wasn’t like this guy was the first person who left stuff where it didn’t belong, but it had been happening much more frequently lately, and always when the same guy came into the store during the late hours of Bitty’s shifts. After a long day of classes and work, Bitty really didn’t feel like picking up after this guy who couldn’t be bothered to put the stuff back where he’d found it.

Tonight, he was supposed to be shelving in aisle three, but Bitty had finished stacking soup cans an hour ago, and had gone up to the till to bug Will. It wasn’t quite ten o’clock yet, and as expected, the store was almost empty, except for Johnson who lived around the corner and liked to do his grocery shopping at weird hours.

Bitty was leaning against the conveyor belt, still griping about people who didn’t put stuff back where they got it when Will straightened up and put his phone in his pocket. Bitty turned around to find the guy standing at the register with an armload of groceries, and Bitty’s first thought was to wonder why he didn’t grab a basket on his way in.

While Will worked, Bitty moved to reorganize the candy bars at the next register while trying not to be too obvious about surreptitiously studying the customer. He was tall, Bitty noted, probably as tall as Will, with broad shoulders. The guy kept his eyes focused on the screen that flashed the price every time Will slid an item across the scanner. His eyes flickered up once to glance at Bitty before going back to his groceries.

When he’d paid, the guy grabbed his bags with a mumbled thanks. Bitty tried not to stare at his retreating form, but he couldn’t help it when the black spandex shorts showed off an ass that Bitty only dreamed of achieving. When he looked back, Will was already smirking at him.

“Not a word,” Bitty warned.

—

Bitty had taken to following the guy around the store whenever he came in. His excuse was that he didn’t want to find another tub of half-melted ice cream sitting somewhere again even though it had actually been an old lady who hadn’t wanted to walk back to freezer.

It wasn’t hard that hard, especially in the open produce section where Bitty pretended to rearrange the display of apples he’d already perfected hours earlier. It was when they got into the aisles that it got harder to make it not obvious. 

Bitty wasn’t sure if he was successful or not after two days. On one hand, he hadn’t caught the guy putting grocery items in random spots, but Bitty was also sure that the guy had caught on to Bitty’s spying.

It didn’t seem to deter him from coming back, though.

Three days later, Bitty was covering the register for Justin who’d taken off to the bathroom because of a stomach ache. Bitty watched as the guy came in and briefly considered the selection of gummy candies at the end of the aisle. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Bitty before he vanished behind a row of shelves.

Bitty rang three customers through before the guy reappeared again. He put a pack of batteries on the end of the conveyor belt, and then, after a second thought, he added a pack of mints on top it.

“Did you find everything you were looking for?” Bitty asked.

“Uh, yeah,” the guy said, though his face suggested otherwise.

Bitty scanned the items, keeping his head down, but he could feel the guy’s sharp gaze on him. He didn’t know why it unnerved him, but Bitty resisted the nervous habit of putting his hands in his employee vest while the guy pulled out his wallet to pay.

“Have a good night,” Bitty said pleasantly.

“You too,” came the reply, and with one last look that Bitty couldn’t decipher, he exited out the sliding doors.

—

“Excuse me?”

Bitty looked up to see the familiar stranger standing hesitantly over where he was stacking bags of sugar on the bottom shelf. “Hi,” he said automatically.

“Uh, which would you recommend?”

Bitty stood up fully, relieving the aching muscles in his legs, and glanced the at the two different brands of pasta sauce that were clutched tightly in the guy’s hands. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had either.”

“Oh.” The guy frowned at the jars as if they’d somehow betrayed him.

“I usually cook with the stuff that has the picture of the Italian lady on the label.”

“Oh,” he repeated again.

Bitty, unsure of how to continue, stared at the guy. He wasn’t wearing a hat tonight, and his wind-ruffled hair stood up in all different directions. Bitty was struck by the most confusing urge to run his fingers through and smooth down the errant pieces. Granted, the guy was very attractive, but Bitty had to remind himself that he was at work. He finally cleared his throat. “I could show you,” he offered, and the guy finally looked up from the sauce.

“Yeah?” he asked hopefully, tipping his head slightly. Bitty shouldn’t think that was cute, but he did.

Bitty led him back down the aisle before he realized that his usual brand wasn’t even stocked on the shelf. “I’m pretty sure we have a bunch in the back that I haven’t put out yet. I can grab them. How many do you need?”

The guy’s eyes widened. “Uh, um, seventeen?”

Bitty didn’t even blink before he pasted on a bright smile. He’d stopped questioning people who bought in bulk a long time ago. “Sure,” he said.

Later, Justin found Bitty in the break room. “Dude, Jack Zimmermann just bought like two dozen jars of spaghetti sauce.”

“Who?” Bitty asked, still staring down at his phone.

“Uh, Jack Zimmermann,” Justin slowly enunciated, like it was a name that Bitty should know. “The captain of the Falconers?” When Bitty continued to stare with the same blank expression, Justin huffed in disbelief. “Slide over,” he insisted as he pulled out his own phone to educate Bitty.

—

Bitty liked to think that he didn’t get star struck easily. It was a theory he held on to because the closest famous person he’d ever encountered was one of his mother’s former high school friends who’d played a minor character on a soap opera for a few years.

Knowing who Jack Zimmermann was now shouldn’t have changed how Bitty thought about him, and yet when Jack came back on Thursday night, Bitty felt strangely aware of him from the moment he set foot in the store. It may also have had something to do with the fact that Bitty had gone through several hours worth of pictures and videos online, and now, he was feeling a little like a stalker. He only hoped his guilt wasn’t too obvious. Justin would never forgive him if Bitty scared away an NHL star.

He was on register duty tonight again, which gave him a perfect view of Jack as he went over the bananas. Bitty had seen enough people shop for fruit to know that most people took their time, checking for ripeness and bruising, but Jack seemed not to be bothered and grabbed the first bunch of bananas before turning around and coming to pay.

Bitty had to remind himself to breathe normally as he put the bananas on the scale.

“So, uh, Eric,” Jack said, breaking the silence and squinting at the name badge.

“Bitty,” he corrected, and seeing the confusion on Jack’s face, he clarified, “It’s what I go by.”

“I’m Jack,” he offered, and Bitty had to bite his tongue before he blurted out _‘I know’_ on accident. “You work a lot of night shifts?”

Bitty shrugged, hoping that it came off as casual. “I guess it’s the way the schedule worked out this semester. My classes are usually late morning and early afternoon.” He didn’t even stutter; he was proud of himself.

“That’s good.” Jack smiled. “What are studying in school?”

Bitty was about to answer, but a croaky voice interrupted. “Excuse me, young man. Where did you put the tuna?”

“Aisle eight, ma’am,” Bitty replied.

The old lady frowned. “It’s not there. I checked. I want the tuna with the blue label on it, not that discount crap.”

He inwardly sighed. “Just a moment, ma’am.” Handing Jack his change, Bitty smiled and said, “Have a good night.” 

“Thanks,” he replied, and Bitty didn’t know better, it almost sounded like disappointment. 

—

The pressure of finals was getting to Bitty, but instead of studying, Bitty found himself stress baking during the late hours. He was tired, but no matter how many times he tossed around on his tiny bed, he couldn’t seem to fall asleep. He finally convinced himself that he’d be better off doing something productive. It was also just his luck that he was out of butter even though he could have sworn he’d had a stick in the freezer.

Pulling on his coat, Bitty headed down the grocery store.

Will was working tonight, and Bitty waved at him when he came in. Grabbing a basket, Bitty headed towards the dairy section at the back of the store. There someone standing right in front of butter that Bitty needed and his steps slowed as he approached, but he didn’t have the patience tonight to stand around and wait until they moved.

“Excuse me,” he said.

The other person turned around, and in his weary state, it took Bitty a moment to realize it was Jack Zimmermann. Fortunately, Jack seemed to have the same delayed reaction because he blinked blankly before there was a spark of recognition. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Me,” Bitty said with amusement.

“You’re not working tonight,” Jack stated.

“Uh, no.”

“You haven’t been working all week,” he added. Bitty looked confusedly at Jack. “It’s just–I mean– I,” he stuttered before he broke off and stared straight ahead at the bricks of margarine. 

“What? Did you miss me?” He laughed jokingly, but the muscle in Jack’s jaw only tensed. 

“No,” he said unconvincingly.

After a pause, Bitty said, “I have final exams. I took some time off of work.”

Jack glanced back sharply. “But you’re here now.”

“Yeah, because I needed butter.” And speaking of which, Bitty took the opportunity to grab what he’d originally come in for. “I’m baking,” he explained as Jack watched him.

“It’s pretty late,” he commented, checking his watch.

Bitty finally noticed for the first time in their conversation Jack was holding a jar of pickles, and because he was sleep-deprived, he couldn’t stop what came tumbling out of his mouth. “Don’t put your pickles where they don’t belong.”

Jack was, understandably, taken aback. “What?”

It was too late to take it back and Bitty was already internally slapping himself. “Your jar of pickles,” he said weakly. “Um, you should buy them, or least bring it to the front and tell us you’ve changed your mind. Don’t just keep leaving it somewhere.”

“Uh, I’ve never done that, but okay.”

Bitty leveled him a glare. “I have to pick up after you every time.”

Jack shook his head. “I really haven’t left jars of pickles anywhere,” he insisted. “Is that why you were following me around?”

“No,” Bitty denied, but then he immediately felt bad about lying. “Maybe.”

“Are you going to keep following me around?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he replied glibly. 

Jack cocked his head to one side as if he was contemplating something. “Well, maybe you should. You know, just to make sure.” He shook the jar teasingly at Bitty before turning and leaving.

Stunned, Bitty could only drop his mouth open, and when he finally regained his wits, Jack had already turned the corner.

—

The grocery store was not that large, but apparently it was big enough for Jack Zimmerman to disappear on Bitty.

“He’s in the bakery department,” Will said without looking up from the gossip magazine he was reading at the front till.

“Who?” Bitty asked innocently. Will snorted and rolled his eyes.

Jack was studying a pre-packaged pie when Bitty finally caught up and too-casually strolled by. “I wouldn’t recommend that,” he said lightly while studying a bag of dinner rolls. “It’s not that good.”

“What’s good, then?” he asked, putting the pie back.

Bitty pretended to think it over. “I guess you’ll have to follow me to find out,” he said, and now that he had the last word, it was his turn to leave. Jack had long legs though, and easily kept up with Bitty, which ruined the whole exit effect.

In the freezer section, Jack scoffed at the frozen waffles. “What’s wrong with waffles?” Bitty asked.

“Nothing,” Jack said nonchalantly. “It’s just not what I prefer to eat in the mornings.”

Bitty choked on his own spit in surprise, and for the second time that night, he gaped openly at Jack, wondering for a split second if he’d heard wrong. The little shit, however, smiled politely and carried on like it was nothing.

“That cantaloupe isn’t ripe,” Bitty warned a little later.

Jack looked down dubiously. “How can you tell?”

“You give it a squeeze,” Bitty said, leaning over to lightly grope the melon. “And then, you have to tap it.” He didn’t even wait for the satisfaction of seeing Jack’s reaction before he started walking away in the opposite direction.

They took turns doing that, each offering some sort of commentary on a grocery item while the other person chased after.

After Bitty had picked up fifth or sixth grocery item, Jack appeared on the other side of Bitty. “That’s a big sausage.”

Bitty glanced down at the party-sized salami he’d randomly chosen before grinning at Jack. “I think I can handle it.”

“You sure it’s not too much?”

“Maybe for you, but I can take it,” Bitty delivered with a straight face that would have been perfect if it weren’t ruined by Jack’s unwavering and intense gaze. He bit his lip, wondering if he’d gone too far, but Jack’s blue eyes flickered to Bitty’s mouth, and he could feel himself getting warm in other areas he’d been ignoring all night.

“We’ll see about that,” Jack murmured.

The fifteen-minute closing warning came on the intercom, and broke the hypnotic spell that was holding Bitty. His mouth felt dry and he had to swallow before he could say anything else. “We should probably go pay for this,” he said faintly.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed.

Out in the parking lot, there was a moment of awkwardness as Bitty tried to tamp down the indescribable flutter in his chest. “So,” he started.

“Pie?”

“Huh?” Whatever train of thought Bitty had going was derailed.

“You said earlier, uh, that I’d have to follow you to find out about the good pie,” Jack said, self-consciously scratching the back of his neck. Bitty was suddenly struck by the contrast of how different Jack’s sudden hesitation was compared with his innuendos whispered in Bitty’s ear just minutes earlier. He almost laughed, but stopped himself it could bubble out of him.

“The best pie is pie that I make,” Bitty said slowly.

“Are you ever going to share this pie?”

“I haven’t made it yet.” Then, boldly taking a step forward, Bitty smoothed a hand over Jack’s collar. “But, how do you feel about pie for breakfast?”

Jack’s grin was downright salacious. “Can’t wait to try it.”

—

It was nearly nine o’clock and the evening crowd had thinned until the store was almost empty. The tell-tale whooshing sound of the doors sliding opening alerted Bitty a new customer, and a familiar hockey player walked in. He headed down one of the far aisles, but it wasn’t long before he confidently came striding back up to the till.

He tossed a bottle of the fancy lube on the conveyor belt. Bitty locked eyes with him and it was brief staring contest before Jack Zimmermann smirked and added a pack of mints on top of the box. Bitty dutifully refrained from comment as he scanned the items. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“I have now.”

Bitty could feel the corners of his mouth curve upward as he handed back the change. “Have a good night.”

“It’s going to be a great night,” Jack promised. Then, leaning in closer, he whispered, “I’ll see you in a bit.”

The end of Bitty’s shift couldn’t come soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Bonus innuendos that didn't make it into the story:**  
>  -Jack and Bitty play “hide the pickle.”  
> -Bitty holds up a package of snack pepperoni sticks and says, “How many pepperoni sticks can you fit in your mouth.” Jack replies, “If I’m doing it right, it should only be one.”  
> -"The English cucumber may be longer but the field cucumber has more girth."  
> -Bitty holds up an ear of corn on the cob. “How good are you at shucking corn?”  
> -Jack looks over the selection of boneless pork. “I prefer to leave the bone in my meat.”  
> -Bitty: “These hotdogs are the right size for my buns.”  
> -Jack grabs a package of beef jerky. “I like my beef jerkied.”  
> -Bitty picks up a package of ham that’s sitting on a deli shelf and sadly shakes his head. “The meat is better when it’s hung.”
> 
> \--
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [legojacques ](http://legojacques.tumblr.com)or find the fic [ on tumblr.](http://legojacques.tumblr.com/post/163268685638/zimbits-food-innuendos-and-the-grocery-store-au)


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